Tractor collector Rich Otto (left) of Buffalo has donated a 1951 Minneapolis Moline Model ZAU
tractor to the Minnesota Historical Society.
Otto knows the history of the tractor because
it has been owned by relatives since it was purchased for farming corn, soybeans and hay in
Renville County near Bird Island in 1951.
In 1985, another farmer purchased it to cultivate corn
in McCleod County near Winsted. Otto, a collector of Minneapolis Moline tractors, bought it in 1995.
While attending a collector's show recently, he heard that the Society was looking for a tractor
that was still original without being restored. Otto has a similar tractor with a wider front end.
Museum collections curator Adam Scher (right in picture above) says an unrestored tractor demonstrates
the impact of farming better than one restored to showroom condition.
The Society is committed to documenting the history of the tractor company
that made a significant contribution to business
and agriculture in Minnesota and the nation, he says.
Otto says the Minneapolis Moline Club is
interested in seeing the Society preserve its large collection of photographic negatives from
the company's records.
Some of those images can be viewed online by clicking at
http://www.mnhs.org/library/search/
vrdb/bsearch.html and entering "Minneapolis Moline" as
key words.
The photographs on this page were taken by Loren Book of the Minneapolis Moline Collectors Club.
View information about other unusual artifacts held by the Minnesota Historical Society,
including equipment from explorer Ann Bancroft.
